


Runs in the Family

by Aelitalyoko99



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Behind the Scenes, Family, Multi, Possible spoilers for nexus uprising
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-10-23 13:18:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10720074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aelitalyoko99/pseuds/Aelitalyoko99
Summary: You can never have enough Ryder's in Andromeda can you? Well Tann or really most Helios leadership would say two or even the pathfinder is enough. According to Marlee Ryder though you can't have enough of them here!Get a different perspective on the events of Andromeda from someone more in the background and even more so prone to secrecy and stealth as Marlee try's to deal with the hardships of Andromeda and the stuggles of a distant family.





	1. A mostly harmless visit

It was nice here in the thick forests. The sky was a mix of light blue and yellow as is typical of the mornings here. There were hardly any clouds and a light cool breeze blew between the trees. This was one of the few heavily forested areas on earth and throughout it were small homes, perfect for families that wanted a piece of nature all to themselves or … a good place for research on artificial intelligence. 

That was the thought process of Alec Ryder when he had his family moved to Earth after being discharged from the Alliance. He was nervous about the choice though as the seclusion would make it a bit more difficult to care for Ellen. Though it was her who convinced him to chose the small home in the forest. She insisted as she believed in the work he was doing besides the fresh air will do me some good, and within a few weeks they were moved from their apartment of the Citadel to the home in the woods. 

As for the younger Ryder's it was a bit more complicated. While they wanted to be close to their mother and help her they could not get over the fact that it was their father’s work that ruined their careers before they had started. Scott came and visited every week though he decided to live in a nearby city instead. Sara on the other had moved with her mother and father as she was willing to give Alec a chance to change as he said he would. It was difficult though as it seemed to form a small rift between her and Scott who refused the attempts their father made claiming it was too late and should bother Sara if he wanted to be a dad. 

At the moment Alec was working hard in his office staring intently at the computer working on the code for his AI, SAM he decided to call it. He’d recently completed the tests for the SAM implants and was just working some more on the SAM that would go on the Hyperion with him. It had been a long time coming but it was about 2 months before the arks were set to leave. Sara and Ellen were in the living room waiting for Scott, who was supposed to be there yesterday, to finally show up since it was supposed to be a family weekend. Sara was looking over some of the Andromeda Initiative material she’d been given while Ellen was quietly reading. On the small table between them a SAM router glowed a soft blue monitoring Ellen as everyone was getting worried with the nearing launch of ark Hyperion combined with the fact she was getting worse. Alec was working hard to help her but his efforts were divided as he was also tasked with creating the SAM implants for the pathfinder team. He’d finished the biotic focused ones for his kids and Cora and was working on a more tech focused one for the rest of his team. 

The woods surrounding the house were peaceful and more or less still in the morning light. Suddenly a shuttle lands in a clearing not too far from the house. A few seconds after the shuttle lands a woman around 20 steps out and looks in the direction of the house. Her hair is short barely reaching her shoulders, bangs nearly covering her light green eyes, and is colored a very light blonde. Across her eyes is a line of a darker pink eye makeup that brings out her eyes along with a thin amount of eyeliner. She was currently dressing in a black sweater and dark jeans which would let her move easily as she began to make her way towards the Ryder home.

 ----------------------------------------

“Finally took long enough to reach this place” I said as I finally came up close to the Ryder house. It had taken a while to get here just because of the distance and the fact I had to make sure to stay out of sight of Alec’s security cameras. “Now if my contact was right he should be done with them and they’ll unfortunately be in his office.” Taking one last look around I darted from the tree line to the side of the house. It must be my lucky day as well since one of the windows were open, I activated my tactical cloak and slipped into the room. 

The room was obviously a bedroom and guessing by the furnishing in the room likely belonged to Sara. Carefully stepping over some stuff on the floor I headed to the door and softly pushed it open. The hall was clear and at one end I found myself looking straight at Ellen sitting and speaking with Sara. Thankfully my cloak was still active and I crept out of the room and into the nearby office. 

Alec was absorbed in his work and looked to be messing with an implant. THe room itself was pretty crowded with a few large containers and a holoboard in the corner full of notes and schematics of various designs. From the looks of it it would not be surprising if Alec hardly left the office if the plate and mug in the corner were any indication along with some other dish ware. Taking a quick look around I noticed the small silver cases that should be holding the completed biotic implants resting on a table across from Alec’s desk. That was my mark, I just needed one of them. Checking again that Alec was busy I began to reach for one.

“There is an intruder cloaked in the room” A robotic voice that came from somewhere in the room stated. I panicked not thinking that he’d had the AI up and running yet.

“Alright come out, I know you’re there.” He said getting up from his desk and walking to the center of the room. He looked ready to attack though that should not be surprising given his N7 training. I decided it would be best to show myself and deactivated my cloak, getting up as I did so.

“Smart AI you have there Uncle.” I said as it deactivated. He was understandably surprised to see me. It’s been years since I’ve been by and I certainly have changed my looks. I decided to play it off as though I was here for a simple visit and gave a small smile.

“Marlee, is that? What are you doing here?” He asked walking up to me. Despite the fact I was 20 now he towered over my by about a foot or more and I had to look up at him. He hasn’t changed much other than looking more tired than he has in years which makes sense if the office around is any indication.

“Testing out a modification I made to my tactical cloak and decided that I would stop by to see you guys.” I lied effortlessly being sure to control my tone and breathing, who knew how well that AI could tell a person.

“RIght and when were you going to make yourself known?” He asked looking suspicious of my story. 

“Well I was gonna maybe play a bit of a prank on Sara first but decided to see if the mod I made would be good enough to sneak past an N7. Looks like it works since you needed the AI to spot me.” I replied gesturing to the blue sphere on the table. I don’t know how I didn’t notice that before though I guess I have attendances to tunnel vision when I’m doing something important. “How’s that going anyways?”

“I’m finished for the most part just doing some last minute adjustments to SAM.” He said giving up on prying into what I was doing here which I was relieved about. “Come on if you’re here may as well go say hi to the others.” He said gesturing out of the office. As we left I managed to grab one of the small silver cases and when SAM said nothing I knew I’d be in the clear.

We left his office and walked into the living room. The room itself was pretty sparse with only a bit of furniture in it though it made sense considering they’d be leaving the galaxy soon. The bright morning light came in through the large window in the back of the room though slightly dimmed. Ellen looked up surprised to see Alec out of his office and then even more so when she saw me step out from behind him. Quickly though she got up and gave me a hug saying how it’s good to see me again. I hugged her back a bit startled at first but then glad for it. Sara looked up from the data pad she was going over and had a curious look as to who I was.

The next few hours were spent talking with Ellen and Sara, who I had to be reintroduced to considering it's been nearly 10 years since we’ve seen each other. 

“Sara I’m not sure you remeber me but I’m your cousin Marlee Ryder.” I said extending my had to her.

“Huh nice to meet you again I guess? What brings you here?” She asked returning the handshake before sitting back down where she was.

“Just a social visit. I wanted to see you guys before you headed for Andromeda.” I answered before getting a small smirk on my face. “Besides your brother owes me some money.”

“What?” Ellen asked looking confused.

“Ah I’ve run into Scott a few times and we like to play some games against eachother. He’s also a terrible better, best not the let him play poker anytime soon.” I explained.

Almost right on que there was a knock on the door. Sara got up to answer it and behind it was Scott looking a bit apologetic. I guess he must be late to have that look on his face. Though it did brighten up seeing me here.

“Hey Mari didn’t expect to see you here.” Scott said setting down the bag he’d been carrying.

“Ah you know I just love surprising people.” I said. “Hey by the way you still owe me for last time.” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. If I remember correctly I won our game last time.” He said giving me a funny look.

“Memory seems to be failing you then Scotty.” I said calling him the name he just hates being called. 

I ended up being there for most of the afternoon just catching up on what everyone was doing lately. While Scott knew most of what I do Sara was curious as to my daily life. I explained that I mostly pilot shuttles and other small transport and do a bit of intel gathering on the side. Really it just depends on what people need. At least that's the part of what I do that I told them but I wasn’t gonna say everything with Ellen and Alec in the room. At some point the conversation turned to the Andromeda Initiative.

“So are you guys looking forward to the big leap?” I asked. 

“I’m excited for the new start we’ll get. Plus It’ll be nice to get some real adventure.” Scott answered, his eyes lighting up at the talk of adventure.

“I’m looking forward to all the new research and other things we’ll discover there.” Sara answered, obviously the more brainy of the twins. As I was talking with Scott and Sara Ellen gave Alec a look and the two of them left to go talk about something.

“I wonder if you guys will run into any new species. Who knows how the Andromeda galaxy evolved.” I speculated.

“Oh so you’re not going?” Sara said a bit surprised.

“Nah it seems cool and all but hey some Ryder needs to stay here and keep the Milky Way on its toes.” I lied, the truth was I was going to Andromeda as well just on the Nexus but I didn’t really want anyone to know. It was at that moment that Alec and Ellen came back in.

“Marlee, do you have somewhere you are staying right now?” Ellen asked.

“Oh um...I mostly just go from hotel to hotel though I do I have a friend on the Citadel that I stay with a lot. Why?” I asked not sure where she was going with this.

“Ellen suggested that maybe you would be interested in taking over the house once we leave.” Alec said and I was honestly a bit floored.

“Seriously? No I can’t do that.” I said trying to think of how I could decline without letting them know I was going as well.

“We insist. I honestly feel bad that you’re staying here on your own and besides it’s not like we'll be using it.” Ellen said with a look of sympathy as she talked.

“I really appreciate the offer but I was actually about to be getting my own apartment on the Citadel in a few weeks. Been saving up for a while and I faintly found one that I liked.” I said and felt terrible for lying to her.

“If you’re sure, though the Citadel is a nice place to live I’ll admit. Once you’re there let us know and we’ll visit before the Hyperion leaves.” She responded seeming happy at remembering living on the station.

“Will do.” I said knowing that wouldn’t happen considering the Nexus was leaving in a few weeks.

The conversation quickly moved on to other things much to my relief. I asked some more stuff about the initiative just to make my story seem more believable and asked about some different advice regarding living on the Citadel. It was really nice just talking with them but I knew I needed to get going especially before Alec got the chance to notice that I had taken one of the biotic SAM implants.

“Well it’s been nice catching up before you guys leave but I really should be going.” I said getting up.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay longer?” Ellen asked.

“I’d love to but I have some work I need to do.” I replied, she looked a bit sad at my response but then nodded in understanding. “Besides the way uncle Alec's been acting I think he’s itching to get back to work on SAM.” 

“Not like he does much else.” Scott said under his breath which earned him a look from Ellen. 

After a few more minutes of talking I was out the door and headed to the clearing where my shuttle was parked. Once I was in I took out the silver case from my bag and opened it up. To my great relief the implant was inside and by the looks of it I did in fact grab a biotic one. With any luck I’ll be long gone before Alec notices it's missing. Just in case though I made sure to put the implant in a box that would block signals going in or out, couldn’t have SAM tracking it. Now I needed to make a call to a doctor I knew who’d install the implant once I’d made some adjustments to it.

“Since you’re calling I assume you got what you needed?” The voice on the other end asked once it picked up.

“Yup it was pretty easy actually. So when do you think you’ll be free? If my calculations are correct then I should have the adjustments done in a few days.” As I talked I set the coordinates for a

“If that’s the case than come by anytime this week and I’ll get it installed. Speaking of amps any more trouble with your current one?” I rolled my eyes a bit at the question though my friend couldn’t see it.

“Nothing out of the ordinary thankfully no flare ups while I was there. Anyways I’ll get to work on this and let you know when I’ll be over. This needs to be done soon though since I need to be on the Nexus before it launches.” As I talked I continued to go over in my head what else I need to do before the launch.

“How are you even going to get into one of the pods they’ve been full for months?”

“Don’t worry I’ve already got that covered you know-” 

“Yeah I know contacts, I don’t wanna know.”

“Anyways I’ll see you in a few days, Marlee out” I said disconnecting the call and setting the shuttle down on the landing pad of the hotel I was currently staying at. This one was more of a motel though hence the shuttle landing pads, overall though it was a rather nice one compared to some of the other ones I could have stayed at. I gave the man at the front desk a small wave as I passed by and headed to the room I had been staying in for the last month.

The room itself was a bit small but nicely furnished. There was a small workspace by the window that was currently covered in various tools and other technical papers I’d left out. On the couch was sitting a medium sized box that was white with a blue band around it and on the top was the Andromeda Initiative logo. Which I got thanks to a clever friend of mine, it’s also because of her that I’ll be going as well since she managed to track down the information of a woman that decided she was gonna stay here. It just so happens that her letter of decline didn’t make it and her Initiative status transferred to me under a fake name. The small bed against the other side of the wall was still messy since I rarely bothered to fix it in the time I’ve been here. 

I went over to the desk and moved some of the clutter on it aside and placed the silver case down. I opened it up and carefully took it out of the case setting it down so that I could get started. I was planning on at least temporarily blocking the SAM connection and was going to add a combat VI I had managed to get a copy of. Once I was in andromeda I was going to re enable the connection since at that point it would not matter anyways. The main reason I had taken one of these was for the strong biotic amp it had, mine was old and since I was not going through official channels this my only option if I wanted the best one plus I didn’t need to risk getting a faulty one other ways.

“Ok then time to get started.” I told myself as I grabbed some supplies and put on music to begin working on modifying the implant.


	2. Final Moments of our Galaxy

The station was beautiful. Everything was clean and shining with the appearance that can only come from a project with so much hope in it. The Nexus was full of people some making the journey, some saying goodbye, and even some already asleep. It was the last night the station would be in the Milky Way and it was a party that many would never forget. The Nexus leadership were standing on a platform that was built into the docking bay for the evening and the final ceremony that would happen tomorrow. 

All these people were excited and nervous at the same time. All these people looking for a new start or just some amazing adventure beyond the stars. Music and the laughter of the people filled the docking bay, a hopeful energy filled the air as the people celebrated. Tonight they’d al celebrate, tomorrow though its all business as everyone gets ready for the long sleep. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was never much for parties myself. There was also the fact I needed to avoid the gaze of my Uncle and cousins who were here for the celebration. Sara and Scott had a downcast look in their eyes though their faces didn’t show it. If my guess was correct that meant Ellen was gone. I wished that I could do something for them but it would need to wait till andromeda. Alec was speaking with Jein Garson, likely of their hopes for andromeda or just random business things. Knowing Alec it was likely the latter.

When I first arrived on the Nexus I was worried that someone would figure out that I wasn't supposed to be here. Going through security and the medical evaluation was stressful but my friend did a good job changing the info in the system to match mine. Now though I was pretty confident that nothing would go wrong so I found myself relaxing a bit. My main priority was avoiding the Ryders. I watched all the people around me, twirling a bit of my now pink hair between my fingers. It had taken a few weeks but it looks like the dye had fully settled.

Be sure you like the color cause this stuff is as permanent as it gets! A note on the box had read.

Nandi, a salarian friend who'd got my info in the system, had left the note and the dye on my door the night after I’d gotten the implant installed and the color turned out great. It was a bit lighter than I’d been hoping but I decided that a new galaxy deserved a new look to go with it. It also reduced my chances of being recognized but I’d rather not take the risk. A change of hair color for the trip was pretty normal for those coming on the trip, some even went as far as to do facial reconstruction before the journey. It defiantly didn't make things easy for security as it made any photo identification useless. 

“Care for a drink?” I looked the the source of the voice and saw it belonged to a man with a latino accent and seemed to radiate charm with a bit of secrecy. He was wearing more or less the same thing as everyone else though unlike the standard blue and grey outfit his was a dark green and brown which seemed to fit him. I myself was wearing the standard Initiative wear.

“I don't see why not.” I answered taking the light blue drink and taking a sip from it. “So who do I thank for the drink?”

“Reyes Vidal at your service. This is a night for celebration and you seemed a bit too sober for the occasion.” He said taking a satisfied look on his face, arm outstretched for a handshake.

“Riley Morrison,” I answered giving my false name and returning the handshake. “Too sober huh? I doubt it would be fun to go into stasis and wake up with a hangover in andromeda.” I said still taking another sip of the drink.

“Ah that’s an issue for later my friend tonight we celebrate!” He said seeming to have already had enough to drink. 

“Eh what the hell why not?” I said content to enjoy the rest of the night even if I wouldn’t remember everything that happened.

“That’s the spirit. To Andromeda!” He said holding his glass to me.

“To Andromeda!” I echoed tapping my glass to his in a toast.

The rest of the evening was spent talking with Reyes and just having a good time. Towards the end of the evening Jein Garson gave an inspirational speech that was quite amazing and the Pathfinders each gave their own as well. Finally the excitement seemed to be dying down as family and friends who weren’t going said their final goodbyes to those taking the trip. Reyes had disappeared at some point in the evening and that left me to my own devices. 

Deciding I was ready to sleep I headed to where the temporary rooms were where everyone that was here tonight would be sleeping. It was just a simple room with a bunch of bunk beds, easily stowed away and closed off once it was time to leave for andromeda. There were some people who were already asleep and in the corner bunk an asari mother was reading a book to two children, both of them looking like they would fall asleep any minute. There were a few others who were just quietly talking as well including two salarians who were going over what looked like star charts or something similar. I managed to find an empty bunk near a window and lied down. It didn’t take long to fall asleep as I was just lying there looking at the milky way stars.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had slept peacefully through the night with the soft glow of the stars outside. It was really relaxing, my wake up call was not really the same though. Instead of being woken up by the alarm on my omni tool instead I woke up to someone. Slightly tugging at my hair. I raised my head up only to come face to face with one of the young asari kids I had seen last night. 

“Oh Sidda what did I tell you about pulling humans hair?” The mother asked as she came and picked up the child. “I’m so sorry about that Ms..?”

“Morrison, Riley Morrison. It’s no problem really just an odd wake up call is all.” I said sitting up and checking the time on my omni tool it was about 6:00 am station time not far off from when I wanted to get up anyways. “Sidda huh doesn’t sound like a typical asari name.” I remarked getting up.

“It shouldn't be their father was a human and he passed away before they were born so I gave them human names in his honor. You’ve met Sidda and over there still asleep is Cecilia. They’re nearly 4 years old now.” She said bouncing Sidda a bit. “Oh and I should introduce myself I’m Nacelle Delena.”

“Nice to meet you Nacelle. Were there a lot of kids coming on this trip?” I had seen a few children of different species but not that many.

“There aren't a lot on the Nexus though the majority of children coming are going to be on the different arks.” She explained. “Again I apologize for Sidda she seems to have a fascination with human hair especially because of the color of yours.”

“Is it really that color?” Sidda asked looking up from her mother to me.

“Yeah it is now. I thought that it would be fun to have a different color in Andromeda.” I answered giving the child a smile. “Cecile over there seems to be a heavy sleeper.” I noted looking at the other child still asleep and holding the end of a soft yellow blanket.

“Ah yes Cecile is not a morning person unlike this one here. Sidda is just always full of energy. Did you come with anyone?” She asked.

“Oh no one it's just me here. I never knew my dad and my mom disappeared when I was little. I do have some friends coming on ark Hyperion though so I can’t wait to see them.” I answered quickly. 

“I’m sorry to hear that, though it is good you’ll have someone you know there I imagine this would be a lonely trip otherwise.” Nacelle said giving me a sympathetic look, its not that I didn't appreciate it but that was in the past for me and I was going to be leaving it far far behind me.

“Anyways want to get something to eat? I’m pretty sure they’ll start putting everyone in cryo sleep in a few hours or so.” I suggested wanting to change the subject.

“That sounds like a good idea. Would you mind taking Sidda while I get Cecile up and ready? I’ll meet you there in a few minutes or so.” She asked.

“No problem is there anything specific she likes?” I asked as Nacelle gave Sidda a gentle push in my direction. Sidda looked to her mother for a second before she grabbed my hand and smiled at me and started tugging at my arm apparently eager to go eat.

“Not really Sidda isn’t very picky just ask for something asari and she’ll be good.” She responded. I said a quick goodbye and with Sidda in tow headed to the cafeteria.

The room was full of people all chatting excitedly about the journey ahead. Though looking around the room I could see more than a few people nursing a hangover, some worse than others. After looking around for a bit I was able to find a fairly empty table. I told Sidda to wait there while I got our food and she gave me a nod in acknowledgement. As I walked to get the food I would look back just to make sure she was still there. Grabbing a serving of human and asari food I turned to head back to Sidda. I set the food down in front of her and the child began eating. As she ate she was asking me questions about me and what I do and I answered them as much as I could.

“There you are, hope she wasn’t too much trouble.” I heard Nacelle as she came and sat down with her and Cecile’s food. Said child was awake now but still had a sleepy look on her face. 

“No problem at all we’ve just mostly been playing 20 questions I guess.” I said making room for the two. Cecile sat next to her sister and the two started talking.

“That’s good to hear Sidda can be a bit of a handful sometimes. I wouldn’t ask for any different though they're the biggest joys in my life.” Nacelle said with a happy smile on her face and adoration for her children in her voice. 

The rest of the morning went by pretty quickly as the four of us continued eating with me and Nacelle speaking of Andromeda and the two children talking together. Once we were done me and Nacelle parted way with the other woman taking the kids to go and socialize with some other families. As for myself I decided that I would walk around the station some before getting ready for stasis. There were people more or less everywhere since there were large parts of the station closed off for the journey. After a while though I managed to find a mostly empty hall and stood watching the space outside. The station had already begun the journey and I could see our escort outside the station fallowing around the station as we slowly passed through the stars.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“At this time all personnel are to begin heading to their designated stasis chambers” The station intercom sounded around mid morning and people began heading in different direction and getting ready to lie down.

“Well this is it.” I said to myself as I made my way to my stasis block. I wasn't really in a hurry though, call it nervousness I guess. I wasn’t so much nervious about the stasis but it was mostly just about what we’d find waiting for us. Everything and everyone seemed so hopeful and optimistic about everything but a little caution never hurt. 

Finally I had made it to my block. There was a line of people waiting to be put in stasis by the technicians and doctors present. In the corner I noticed a securety officer was standing there watching the people, making sure everything went smoothly. It looked like there were about 28 people or so in line and they were being helped into stasis two at a time. It was likely that I was the last person to reach the block. It took about half and hour before I was at the front of the line and it seemed I was right about being the last one here.

“Name?” A salarian doctor asked. 

“Riley Morrison.” I answered shortly, he didn’t seem like much of a talker anyways.

“Morrison, second wave pilot.” He said bringing up me information on the terminal next to him. He tapped in some more commands on his terminal before gesturing for me to follow him. “Hold still.” He directed as he injected me with something.

“What’s that?” I asked rubbing my arm a bit where the needle had been.

“Sedative that will help you fall asleep faster.” He answered and already I could feel just a little bit drowsy. He looked to the side and one of the assistants came by with what I recognized as the box holding my personal belongings. I didn’t pack much just some of my more modified and smaller tools, a picture of me and some of my friends, some clothes that I wanted to bring including my favorite scarf and jacket, and lastly tucked into the bottom was a few datapads holding blueprints and schematics I’d come up with. “Just put your omni tool in here and you’ll be ready to go.”

I took off the initiative omni tool and placed it atop the rest of my stuff and the assistant, another salarian, sealed the lid and put the box with the others full of things that belonged to the rest of us in this block. The same doctor then lead me to my stasis pod and helped me inside. He entered in some info into the terminal connected to the stasis ring after that he looked to me.

“Ready?” He asked.

“As much as I’ll ever be.” I said giving him a thumbs up. 

“Sleep well.” He said before closing the pod around me. 

I could feel the movement as my pod was put in place with the others first being at an angle then I could feel it being lifted into place and could just imagine the mechanical arm doing it. After a few seconds the light coming through the opaque window dimmed as the sealed off the stasis block. Finally I began to drift off as the sedative really started taking effect. My last thoughts were of Andromeda and the excitement that would come when it was time to be woken up and with that I was out for the long sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So does anyone know exactly how aging works for asari children cause I'm just gonna assume they age normally like a human and then are just adults forever.


	3. A Not so Great Start

The stations was an absolute mess now. All the glamor and pristine shine was gone, replaced with burnt ash or even completely gone into the cold reaches of space. The Nexus had hit...something upon arrival in Andromeda. It left most of the station devastated and quite a few people were now dead, not even making it out of their stasis pods. Progress had been made in rebuilding the station though only so much can be done in 2 weeks time. 

The people that were awake and alive had been working tirelessly trying to get things up and running, with life support being their main concern right now as several times it had nearly failed. The Krogan were heavily involved in the rebuilding process and were making the task easier, much to the acting director Tann’s discomfort which he did not keep secret. Despite the chaos of the current situation nothing else had really gone wrong on the station. Unfortunately not everyone was willing to accept that things were going wrong and as these thing usually do it lead to an incident. 

I was currently sitting in the temporary medbay that had been put together in what should have been an office, though for what I’m not sure. My arm hurt like no tomorrow as an asari doctor set the bone in place, it having been shattered earlier in the day. Nearby 2 members of the security team were also getting treatment for other injuries following the day's events. After putting my arm in a sling the doctor gave me Aa dose of something for the pain and told me to lie down for a while. As I did that I looked to the nearby window showing unfamiliar stars and beyond that whatever the nexus had hit. 

\--------------------------

The first thing I remember was someone shining a bright light in my face. I felt so weary from the stasis wearing off and felt very disoriented before things started coming into focus. I was expecting a team of doctors or technicians or something else. What I saw though was a salarian and a rather large human woman standing over me. The room was also very dark, more so than it should have been.

“Wha-?” I tried to ask while sitting up but a wave of nausea at the movement sent me back, that and the hand of the salarian gently pushing me back down.

“Easy you humans take a bit to stabilize from stasis.” The salarian said. I looked to the uniform he was wearing and the name tag on it read only Falarn. I took a few more minutes before attempting to sit up again this time with no trouble. 

“What’s going on?” I asked my voice weak, coming about barely above a whisper. 

“First things first what’s your name?” Falarn asked looking over one of the terminals. I tried to lean forward to see what it was but it seemed my vision wasn't entirely awake yet.

“We don't have time for this, just get her up and let's get going.” One of the other people in the room, an impatient turian said tapping his foot and looking around as if he was expecting some trouble.

“We’ve got time, now your name?” He asked sending a glare at the turian.

“Riley Morrison, can you just tell me what’s going on now?” I asked curious why he didn't just look at the info screen to get my name.

“Long story short the Nexus is in trouble and we’re not staying on this death trap. We need a pilot and you’re it.” Falarn explained getting something from the storage bins, my omni tool I realized as he put the band around my wrist. “Here you’ll need this to unlock the shuttle.”

“I’m sorry what?” I said realizing just how wrong this was. I was second wave, not meant to be up until we were settled somewhere. Then there was the look on these people’s faces, they were ones of anger and desperation. My eyes had adjusted to the room and I noticed there were seven other people standing here all with the same expressions as the two in front of me though some seemed more nervous than others. “Have they ordered an evacuation? And where is the medical staff or-”

“No you misunderstand, we’re not staying here waiting to die out here. You’re gonna fly us a shuttle out of here.” The woman said, she was easily more than a foot taller than me and looked to be all if not more muscles. I sighed knowing where this was going having spent some time in the Terminus system gave a familiarity with these types.

“I’m guessing a polite refusal is out of the question?” I asked already knowing the answered and it was confirmed with the woman, Graves her uniform said, hauled me onto my feet and pushed me towards the door.

“Exactly.” Falarn said gesturing for the rest of the group to follow. We exited the stasis block and I got my first look at what had happened here. There were wires sticking out of several panels along the walls though there wasn’t anything coming out of them at least not any more if the dark spots on the floor and wall were any indicator. The air had a slight burn to it as if it wasn’t being filtered as well, which very well may be the case as far as I knew. Another thing was how dark it was with only minimal lighting it would be hard to see other people coming and that made me nervous. 

Falarn lead us to one of the docking bays and pointed to a nearby shuttle. We all moved to where it was parked. The hanger was brighter than the rest of the halls wed been in, while the artificial sky wasn’t completely con some of the panels were glowing a soft white light. There were a few shuttles that looked like they were being used as temporary shelters though no one was here right now. Crates of supplies and other containers were all around and other equipment was scattered some broken and some still looked usable. Coming up to the parked shuttle Falarn stepped to the side while Graves pushed me forward.

“Alright you should have pilot authorization now open it” Graves said crossing her arms.

“Look have you even thought of the fact that we don’t know this galaxy? Where am I even supposed to take us?” I asked looking pointedly at Falarn. The salarians narrowed his eyes at me clearly annoyed.

“Just open the shuttle and get it ready to fly.” He said. Reluctantly I opened my omni tool and accessed my pilot access codes and unlocked the shuttle. After a few seconds the door opened and Falarn and some of his team got in. Graves roughly shoved me into the pilot seat and told me to get it started. It was then that I began to hear gunfire outside the shuttle.

“What the-?” I asked.

“Stay here and keep getting ready to take off.” Graves said looking to one of the others in the shuttle and giving him a nod. The turian took a position outside the shuttle, pistol drawn, I had no clue where he’d managed to get one. If he had one I could only assume that all of them had weapons. I could hear shouting coming from outside and recognized one of the voices, security director Slone Kelly.

The turian was distracted watching the fight, occasionally firing off a shot or two. I know it hadn’t been very long since getting out of stasis but I didn’t have a choice here. I stood up from the seat and he didn’t even notice, not a very good guard I see. My body was surrounded by a weak blue-purple aura and I sent the energy forward knocking the turian from his feet and out the door. I grabbed the pistol he’d dropped and activated my cloak and exited the shuttle. Looking to the side I could see Graves was busy fighting Slone. Well fighting may be an understatement it was more like graves was tossing Sloan around. Finally she got free but when headlong into the side of the shuttle and hit it with a loud bang. Deciding what to do I climbed onto a stack of containers and leaped at Graves, my fist glowing blue through the cloak.

I slammed into her knocking her off her feet and giving the security director time to regain her footing. “Thought you could use a hand.” I said smirking at her. Sloan seemed surprised at the help though she probably assumed that everyone here was on board with the shuttle stealing. As I got up from my hands and knees Sloan’s eyes widened.

“Watch it!” She yelled as Graves came back and with her large mass and my rather small one lifted me completely off the ground and threw me hard into some nearby containers. I heard a crack followed by an intense pain in my arm, not surprising though as it was bent at an odd angle from hitting the corner of the container at the force it did. 

It all worked out though as with Graves distracted Sloan was able to put her down. After a few moments everything was quiet as it seemed all the would be thieves were either incapacitated or in the case of two of them dead. I leaned my head back on the container I’d hit and breathed a sigh of relief, it was over. 

“Hey you ok?” An asari asked coming to stand in front of me. If I remember from the fighting her name was Talini. 

“Nothing major I don’t think, though I'm pretty sure my arm is broken.” I said as she helped me up grabbing onto my good arm. Before she could say anything else Sloan walked over to us not looking pleased at all.

“Alright who are you and why did you do that stupid stunt?” She asked bluntly. It seems the descriptions of Sloan were true she held no punches as she spoke and seemed to radiate anger right now.

“I’m Riley Morrison, they woke me up wanting me to pilot the shuttle. Not sure where they thought I'd be able to take them but I also didn’t think I’d have been able to take on that mountain of a woman plus all of them at once. As for that stupid stunt it seemed to help you at least.” I said gesturing to the unconscious woman who was being dragged away by two turians and the rest of Falarn’s group was being taken away as well.

Sloan looked ready to argue some more or something like that when Talini spoke up. “Um… ma’am we should probably get her to medical along with a few others that got a bit roughed up in the fight.” The asari said. Sloan gave a look like like she wanted to ask some more things but in the end nodded.

“Right take care of that. I need to go have a word with Tann.” She said before storming off to see whoever Tann was. 

“So...rough start huh?” Talini asked looking at me with a sympathetic expression on her face.

“Well It’s not the best wake up I’ve had plus you know I didn’t really plan to break an arm less than an hour into Andromeda.” I said giving her a bit of a smirk as I held my arm. That got a small laugh out of her and she gestured in the direction of the tram so that we could head to the med bay. “So has there been any word from the pathfinders?” I asked thinking of my cousins and uncle. 

“Nothing, and we can’t even tell what's outside the ship without looking out the window. And as you saw some people are starting to get a bit antsy up here.” The asari said as the tram started. “I’m sure someone can catch you up to speed on what’s happened so far.”

The ride and following walk was mostly quiet since as the adrenaline began to wear off the pain in my arm was making itself more known than a krogan in a china shop. Talini gave me a sympathetic look but obviously couldn't do much more for me. When we finally reached the temporary medbay Talini gave the docs a quick rundown on what happened and left. 

\--------------------------------------

My thoughts on the day’s events were interrupted when Director Kelly came in with two of her team. She looked less than pleased which was understandable given the situation and said something to the doctors that earned a pretest from the asari doctor that had helped me. After a few seconds she turned from the doctor and came over to me.

“We need to talk. Come on.” She said exhaustion clear in her voice though it still had the usual bite to it. She turned on her heel and began walking out. The security people with her waited till I was up and then we followed the quick steps of the security director. 

As we walked through the station I got more of a look at what was happening here and just how much the station had deteriorated. Unlike last time going through I got a look at some of the people on the station. Most of them were talking in small groups and all of them had the same weary and nervous look. Many of the uniforms they were were darkened by ash and whatever else had gone wrong on the station. We boarded another tram and this one headed in the direction of the operations center. Walking up the ramp to were the main offices were I could see that much of the bulkhead was missing and replaced by the stations mass effect fields keeping the atmosphere in.

“This way.” Sloan called and we turned the the right and headed into a small office. When we walked in I was a bit surprised and very nervous at the people waiting for me in there. At one side of the room superintendent Nakmor Kesh was working at the consol she stood beside and appeared to be talking to someone on her Omni-tool. In front of the desk stood a woman I remembered as Foster Addison, director of colonial affairs, talking with a salarian I did not recognize. Sloan directed me to a chair that was in a bit in front of the two talking in front of the desk before waving off her team and leaning against the door frame. Once I was seated she cleared her throat getting the attention of the others in the room.

“Look I swear I had no hand in planning that shuttle theft they just woke me up and told me to fly.” I said quickly hailing an idea of where this was going.

“We are aware of the Ms. Morrison.” The salarian said pulling up something on his Omni-tool. “These criminals had gotten ahold of stasis codes that they shouldn't have been able to get, and woke you up due to your piloting background, that much is clear.” He explained.

“Um… I’m sorry but who are you?” I asked as politely as I could. It was obvious he was some sort of leader but he wasn’t any of the Nexus leadership that I knew. 

“Of course, I’m Jarren Tann, Acting Director of the Andromeda Initiative.” He said casually.

“Wait acting, what about Jien Garson?” I asked confused though the answer became clear as I thought of how the station was.

“Jien Garson was recently found dead, killed by the same thing that left the Nexus in such a state. Now we’re all just trying to pick up the pieces.” Addison said with a solemn look on her face at the mention of Garson. After that it was silent for a while until I couldn't take it anymore.


End file.
